However, the big news is that the Church is organizing and making arrangements for California student citizens at Institutes of Religion throughout the United States to assist with phone calls back to California voters. Although it does not appear that non-California citizens are being enlisted, it would seem logical that willing out-of-state members could be allowed to participate.

Yes on 8 ahead in the polls

For the first time since the polls began, likely voters in favor of proposition 8 have pulled ahead by about five points. This is reflected on both official websites for and against the proposition. The CBS/Survey USA released 6 Oct showed that Yes on 8 is leading by a margin of 47% Yes to 42% No. The 7 Oct Lake Research Partners poll shows Yes on 8 leading 47% Yes to 43% No.

Another amazing fact is that fund raising by Yes on 8 has exceeded the No on 8 by $10 million. Supporters of the initiative have raised $25.4 million, while opponents have raised $15.8 million. The number of contributors to the Yes on 8 campaign numbers over 61,000, the majority with small donations under $1,000. Some have estimated that LDS Members have contributed 43%.

New ads are effective

Although they have been dismissed by the opposition as being erroneous, absurd and full of lies, the new ads seem to be having an effect. Rather than embed them, which can be annoying (the embed, not the ads), I will just provide links here in case you haven’t seen them. This is what the financial contributions have been buying – short, to the point and hitting at the gut level.

Since the church asked us to give of our time and means to the coalition I have written a dozen articles on this subject, You can find them on my sidebar under “Essays on Marriage.” This has been an interesting journey for me. I recently changed my position about same-sex attraction. I used to believe that it was 100% choice. I now believe that some may indeed be born with it.

However, that doesn’t change my belief that homosexual behavior is a sin nor my position on same-sex marriage. Even if the Yes on 8 ads are misleading or overstating suppositions as facts, as the opposition claims, I am still convinced that we need to be involved in protecting traditional marriage. Prophets have asked us to take a stand and I am convinced they know a lot more about this than I do.

Update

The broadcast was well attended in our stake. The chapel was full, almost to overflowing. Besides great explanations of why we are involved in promoting proposition 8, they introduced a new website, PreservingMarriage.org. Elder Ballard was especially focused on helping our young people understand the need to get involved and to have the materials they would need.

Both of the videos on the new website were shown in the broadcast. They are excellent. I especially liked Elder Bednar’s discussions with the college age kids. They asked some great questions about how to answer their friends who may perceive our efforts as intolerant. I think this is the biggest complaint we get. I have written about that previously in this essay.

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9 comments for “California Prop 8 goes church-wide”

S.Faux

October 9, 2008 at 3:23 am

Tim,I watched the 3 ads and the video that you linked and I found them to be quite persuasive. It is sad to think that school boards believe that they can countermand the desires of parents, as shown in the video on your list.I am very much against Judges who believe they can legislate morality from the bench. Such Judges should not have the power to countermand voters.

‘Church wide’ is a huge exaggeration. it hasn’t been mentioned here in the UK, and I very much doubt it will have been mentioned in other areas of the kingdom. The US does not equate to Church-wide, seriously.

Hi Anne,Thanks for visiting my blog and adding your comment. The Deseret News story from which I originally took this story was rather misleading. They added a follow up this morning that corrects the impression. The point the writer made was that any California Citizen living out of state or out of country who wanted to participate in the calling program could participate.The article this morning suggested that the first article misinterpreted that pilot program since it is not yet in place. Thanks for pointing out to me the poor choice of a title. I should probably change it to nation-wide. There is an amazing amount of commentary on both of the articles in the Deseret News.

Obama has stated on the public record many times and going back a couple of years that he supports traditional marriage between a man and a woman. He has also stated on the record that he opposes same-sex marriage. So has Joe Biden. A simple Google search reveals that.

Okay Tim then why have they both stated they would vote NO on prop 8. Once again, you mormons circumscribe your truth into one whole, i.e. whatever the nuts aka delusional authorities say. It’s as simply misleading as the statement on teaching gay marriage in schools as the California Education Code also requires teaching of respect for committed relationships so even if prop 8 were to pass, teachers still would have to teach respect for people in committed relationships. Mormons like you are plain bigoted. I have no doubt believing you didn’t have a problem with blacks not having the preisthood before. Maybe your great test is to see how stupid your leaders can get before mormons actually wake up and realize they are brainwashed.

Hi Kalvin,I’m sure you realize that some politicians will say anything that is convenient according to the audience they are addressing. Obama and Biden are not California citizens so they won’t be voting on Prop 8. You can believe what you want about what teachers will or won’t teach about gay marriage in California Schools.I’ve seen enough evidence and have made up my mind. I’ve read the law for myself and have read what many California School teachers have said. I’ve also seen two examples in the recent news here in the State of California where school children were obviously being taught that gay marriage was equal to traditional marriage. I don’t agree with that.Denying the priesthood to the blacks is not the same as defining marriage in the state of California. Yes, I do support what President Monson has asked me to do in giving of my time and means to ensuring the passage of proposition 8. I think he is one of the smartest men I know. I enjoy listening to him and all the other Apostles and Prophets.

How to reach me for private chat:

tmalonemcse @ gmail.com

Depending on my workload, it can sometimes take a few days to get to your email. I read them all, even if I don't always respond. Thanks to all for reading and sharing.

I am often overwhelmed with private emails after I post something new. If you want to chat on the phone, I will be happy to do so. Shoot me an email with your number and I'll give you a call. Or call me (text first). Let's talk.

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I’m a California native. I grew up in the San Gabriel Valley in the sixties with a brother and four sisters. I’m the youngest in my family. Dad worked in retail grocery stores and mother taught in local elementary schools there. I played drums in the band during my school years. I graduated from Covina High School in 1974 and received a vocational training certificate in computer programming the same year. I later earned an Associate degree from the California Community College system (Mt SAC) and began my career in computer programming, sales and support.

I have been working with computer technology for over thirty years. I started as a programmer on the larger computers and then embraced personal computers when they came out. I worked in retail computer sales, then software distribution and later became a certified network engineer. My specialty is Microsoft systems in the Small and Medium Business market. I am currently the IT Director for a private corporate jet management company located at the Burbank Bob Hope airport. With modern technology, I am able to do a large part of my job working from home.

I am married with one adult son. Until recently, I was very active in my local community church. I spent two years in Central America as a missionary. I enjoy reading, research, writing, correspondence and have a special interest in changing natural events. You can find me online every day on various internet communities and blogs, especially on religious blogs. I am a blogger and write about issues that confront Mormonism. My faith in Christ is a big influence in my life.

My philosophy of life is centered on the idea of divine revelation as a source of knowledge. Yet I am a rationalist in that I embrace reasoning as an important part of deciding truth. But I am also an empiricist because I believe the same steps I take to obtain knowledge can be followed by others and should produce the same or similar results. I am not a skeptic. I am convinced that true knowledge is not only possible but is our divine right. I am not an existentialist. I do not believe that truth is subjective. I am a pragmatist. I look for truth in shared human experience

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Tim is a computer technology professional providing desktop support, network administration and systems management in the Small and Medium Business market. He is currently the IT Director for a private corporate jet management company located at the Burbank Bob Hope airport. He began his career as a programmer but switched to tech support many years ago. Tim is married, has one adult son, and, until recently, was very active in his local community church. He spent two years in Central America as a missionary. He enjoys reading, research, writing, correspondence and has a special interest in alternative medicine. You can find him online every day on various internet communities and blogs, especially in the tech area. He maintains three blogs online, one on technology, one on current events and one on health research.

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